Having trouble determining the intervals? In order to determine the notes in a melody, a musician must have some ability to recognize intervals. Some music teachers teach their students relative pitch by having them associate each possible interval with the first two notes of a popular song. Here are some examples for each interval:
| interval |
ascending |
descending |
| unison |
Happy Birthday to You
La Marseillaise |
|
| minor second |
Theme from Jaws
Nice Work If You Can Get It |
Joy to the World
Für Elise |
| major second |
Frère Jacques
Silent Night
Do-Re-Mi |
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Satin Doll
The First Noel |
| minor third |
Greensleeves
Smoke on the Water
O Canada
The Impossible Dream
So Long, Farewell |
Hey Jude
The Star-Spangled Banner
Frosty the Snowman
Theme to Hook |
| major third |
When the Saints Go Marching In
Kumbaya
Do-Re-Mi (first and third notes) |
Summertime
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot |
| perfect fourth |
Taps
Auld Lang Syne
O Tannenbaum
Apache
Australian National Anthem
Here Comes the Bride
Amazing Grace
Theme from Harry Potter
Constant Motion by Dream Theater |
Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Adeste Fideles
Downtown (On the lyric 'Downtown')
Theme From Star Trek: The Next Generation |
| tritone |
Maria (West Side Story)
The Simpsons opening sequence |
YYZ
|
| perfect fifth |
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
My Favorite Things
Scarborough Fair
Also sprach Zarathustra
Theme from Star Wars
Diary of Jane - Breaking Benjamin |
Seven Steps to Heaven
What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor?
Theme from The Flintstones
|
| minor sixth |
Across the Stars (from Star Wars)
Bashana Haba'ah
Black Orpheus
saxophone hook from Baker Street
A Change of Seasons I. The Crimson Sunrise - Dream Theater (second and fourth notes)
The Entertainer (big interval after pick-up)
|
You're Everything
Theme from Love Story
|
| major sixth |
My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean
NBC Theme Song
Leia's Theme (from Star Wars)
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Take the A-Train |
A Weaver of Dreams
Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen
The Music of the Night
Over There
|
| minor seventh |
Theme from Star Trek
Somewhere (West Side Story) |
Watermelon Man
An American in Paris |
| major seventh |
Take on Me
Theme from Fantasy Island
Immigrant Song
Bali Hai (first and third notes)
|
I love you
|
| octave |
Over the Rainbow
Let It Snow
Hey there Delilah intro |
Willow Weep For Me
Doogie Howser, M.D. Theme
To Zanarkand, Final Fantasy 10 |
Help is to come soon...
Help is to come soon...